Altered Clock and Lipid Metabolism-Related Genes in Atherosclerotic Mice Kept with Abnormal Lighting Condition

Figure 1

Oil Red O staining of the aortic arch of mice. We used Oil Red O staining to evaluate vulnerable plaques in the wild type C57 BL/6J (C57) mice, the ApoE knockout (ApoE-KO) mice treated with regular light-dark conditions, and the ApoE-KO (ApoE-KO LD/DL) mice with abnormal light stimulation. The arterial arch of C57, ApoE-KO, and ApoE-KO LD/DL mice was dyed with Oil Red O. No obvious changes were found in the C57 group (a). Endothelial lipid deposition and foam cell formation were seen in ApoE-KO group (b). However, exposure to abnormal day and night for 6 weeks resulted in lipid core and thicker caps were detected in ApoE-KO LD/DL mice (c). Arrowheads indicate lipid deposition. Original magnification ×200 ().

(a)

(b)

(c)